Aclidia - Red Sky at Morning Customer take Warning

The beasts passing by on the street give the shouting mouse little to no attention. They have all heard that ploy before. Call a beast for help in some dark alley way and BAM! There is a gang of beasts waiting to knife you in the back! No way they are going to be stupid enough to follow some street rat of a barbarian mouse in there! Meanwhile in the alley way the two martens can be seen bounding down to the other end. One marten carries the lizards struggling legs while the other carries her head. They slide against the far wall before dissapearing around the corner to the right, behind the buildings.

The day came early for Aclidia. A thriving port city like this one could not afford to laze about the morning and so with dawn activity once again came to its streets and harbor, especially Merchant Road. The shops opened their doors at day light all but a few merchant stalls had their wares ready to be sold. The crowd so far was small, but it would grow soon enough as beasts came to buy their supplies for the day.

Shouts and calls to attract customers were the norm here as were the smell of fresh fruits, cooking meats, and wondrous perfumes.

A pack slung over her left shoulder, and wearing a further toward brown version of her cream kirtle, today, a mousemaid is getting rather turned around in all the hustle and bustle. She had made an early start out for the town, not realizing how close she was, after camping out the previous night, and, after weeks of barely another beast, so many are proving to be rather overwhelming. She turns one way, stops, turns another, and finds herself nearly bowled over by... well, she didn't even see what beast that was. Alarmed, Catarina begins to back up; perhaps it's safer to be on the side of the street and watch how things go, and work out where everything is...

Perhaps this side of the street was safer, for the moment at least. The traffic here was less simply because it was considered rude to place a merchant stall in front of the enterence to an alley. Two pairs of beedy beach marten eyes stared at the mouse from inside the alley way. The white furred beasts were dressed in sack cloth, dirty sack cloth at that. They stare intently at the mouse as if she is invading their sovereign territory.

On the other side of the alley, not too far from where the mouse is there is another momentary lack of traffic. There appears to be a merchant stall set up here selling all mannor of goods from clothing to jewels. Even a few nick nacks here or there such as small replicas of the Arena made out of silver. Set behind the stall is a rug filled with soft pillows upon which rests the merchant.

The reptile lays sprawled out on her side. She is a red scaled lizard dressed in a tan silk vestment and sash. The garments leave most of her yellow underbelly exposed and free to spill out onto the pillows around her. The obese lizard seems to take no notice of the mouse but rather focus's in on the small rat pausing to look at her wares. The rat looks through the items before moving on with out buying anything.

Catarina waits, catching her breath and watching, as though trying to determine the system of the foot traffic... She's sure there must be some kind of order to it all... but from what she can tell, beasts just seem to be walking where they fancy, and being small seems a disadvantage while she doesn't know a place enough to be quick. She looks at her immediate surroundings. Well, an alley entrance is probably 'out of the way' of the bustle, at least, so she probably isn't in anyone's way. Her stomach grumbles and complains, and she looks down, surprised for a moment. It was a light breakfast, and a couple of hours ago, she supposes. A glance either side shows no real nearby food stalls, though she can smell such... and there appears to be a... lizard on pillows in charge of the nearest stall. She can't help but find herself staring, unaware of the more unfriendly looks for a moment.

It's understandable that a hungry beast might stare at a beast so well fed. The reptile however might not appreciate it. She sits up in her bed of pillows and stretches until she pops her back. Sighing in relief the red scaled lizard stands up to her full height which isn't too much taller than the mouse. "Come on...where are you? I said I would only cover you for a five minutes...not the bleeding morning." The lizard says to herself as she crosses her arms and leans to one side.

Catching the mouse staring at her from the corner of her vision the lizards scowl immediately turns into a warm and welcoming smile. She offers a friendly wave before focusing in on the crowd again. She seems to be looking for someone.

Catarina flushes with embarrassment as she's caught staring... but then the lizard is waving. The mouse just isn't used to civilized reptiles. She's staring again as she slowly raises a paw to wave back at the red-scaled being who is... friendly, at least, she supposes. The fact that a lizard is selling stuff causes her to become a little more interested in the wares on offer, too, and she glances to see what's being sold before tip-toeing a tiny bit closer and offering a "Good morning!" that she hopes isn't -too- squeaked.

The lizard twists her neck around at the mouses squeek. A large toothy grin forms on her face, much like a dragon would smile at a lost sheep. "WeeEEeEeel hello there!" The lizard gestures with her claw to the mouses clothes, "You must be looking for some new clothes. I can see why! Come on in and take a look! Everything here is on sale! Even the souvineers! Come, come! Take a look!"

The lizard steps lightly behind the mouse and tries to usher her closer to the center of her makeshift shop. The lizard may be a sales beast, but she never claimed to be a good one...

"I.. I am?" Catarina doesn't think she was looking for new clothes but well, now a lizard is commenting on her fashion and saying so. The mouse has no idea if it's a good idea to argue with a lizard or not, and allows herself to be guided into the shop. "Um. Oh. That's... good." Her stomach rumbles again. Oh right. /That/ is something she was looking for. "Uh, do you sell food?" Her little feet take small steps as she's ushered. She's still not /totally/ sure that, civilized or not, the lizard might want to eat her or something... but she's trying hard to convince herself that it's a silly notion.

The lizard shuffles the mouse to a rack of dress and robes. With one paw still on the mouses shoulder ad the other rubbing her own chin the lizard chuckles, "Oh I wish we sold food. But my boss chose to be a tailor instead of a baker so..." She shrugs, gesturing to the lines of multi colored robes and dresses, "I would rather be getting myself some breakfast too but the little weasel who SHOULD be running the stand this morning needed me to cover for him for five minutes...about a hour ago."

Distracted by her own thoughts the lizard pauses to say out loud, "I could kill for a steak right about now..." Shaking her head she remembers why she is here. "See anything you like?" The lizard hisses softly as she gestures to the rack of clothes.

A steak? The mouse tries to remember what those are made of, but is being... asked about clothes and told things. "Um. I see. Well. Er. Maybe. This is nice." She points at a robe of a similar green to her surcoat, then shakes her head, suddenly thinking of something. "Oh, but.. Um. I don't really have a lot of money, maybe, and I really do need to buy food..."

The lizard peers over the mouses shoulder. She grabs the garment in question and pulls it off the rack. "Heh, with this one I think you would need to buy food." She stretches out the robe infront of the mouse. "This would wrap around you like a tent. You sure you don't want this nice garment over here? It's only a few coins m-" What the mouse said finally caught up with the lizard, forcing her to pause, "Wait, your broke? Then why are you wasting my time if you can't pay for anything!" The lizard shouts, flailing her arms about.

Obviously something was lost in translation...

"Oooh..." The mouse maid comments, seeing just how big the fabric really is. Yes, that might be a bit big and... ah, the lizard has realized she was talking about money. "Well. Um. I just got here, and it was so busy so I stood back and then you waved and I waved back and, well, you're a -lizard-; I didn't want to um..." She stops, realizing it's probably not very tactful to say what she was about to say.

The lizard tilts her head to one side. "Why would me being a lizard have anything to-" She pauses and lets out a loud, "Oh." as realization dawns on her. Rubbing the back of her neck the reptile offers the Cat a sheepish grin. "Heh...er, sorry about that. I can get a bet...heated when I don't have food to eat myself." The lizard pauses again, she looks about the area again with a small scowl.

"Screw it." She tosses the dress half haphazardly over the rack, "You want to eat? Follow me. I know a great place that serves some fine tasting eggs. It's also the usual spot to find my wayward sales beast. If you want to come with me, I don't mind the company."

Catarina inadvertedly takes a half step back as the lizard mentions, again, needing to eat, herself. "Oh! Um. Okay." She really hopes it's not a butchers or something to make mouse steaks, but this has seemed a civilized city /so far/. "But won't someone, um, take your stuff if you leave it?"

The lizard pauses in step. She gives Cat a stare then bursts into laughter at some unknown reason. Wiping a tear away from her eyes the lizard gestures for Cat to follow, "You're a funny one, you know that? I'm Sibyl by the way." She waves her claws about as she talks. "Don't worry. I won't get in trouble. DIEGO will get in trouble for pawning his work off on me while he goes off to do...what ever. Last time he did this we found him belly up in a wine barrel. Hmmm, wine battered weasel..." She adds the last part to herself but keeps walking. The two pine martens in the alley stare at Sibyl as she walks by. They chitter to themselves in a quiet tone. It is impossble to make out what they say but it involves much head nodding and dark chuckling.

"I am? Um. Thanks... I think..." Cat has never really thought of herself as funny before. She tentatively follows the lizard, casting a glance back at the stall, as though worried /she/ might get in trouble for it being left alone somehow... She does learn some interesting pieces of information. 'Diego' doesn't seem to be the boss, maybe... and also, he is a weasel... If she notices the marten's staring at Sibyl, she doesn't mention it. Besides, she thinks everyone probably stares at lizards... "I am Catarina. Why was... he in a wine barrel?"

"He couldn't pay up his gambling debters so they tossed him in one after they roughed him up." The lizard chuckles, "Diego has a particular addiction to card play but doesn't have the sense to win. A terrible combination uf you ask me." Waiting for the mouse to cross the alley before continuing Sibly replies again, "It's nice to meet you Catarina. Don't worry, we have all be in your shoes at one point. It can be hard coming to the big city for the first time. But I assure you that there is nothing to worry a-"

At that moment a burlap sack is thrust over the lizards head and body. She lets out a muffled yelp as the marten tips her over and throws her upside down over his back. Sibyl's feet and tail can still be seen kicking in the air as the other beach marten ties up the sack. "You saw nothing!" The marten holding the lizard points a claw at the mouse. Then with out another word they dash back into the alley.

The beasts on the street continue about their day as if nothing had happened...

"Oh.. Did he mind being in the wine barrel?" She certainly knows some beasts wouldn't... " And then there's a remark that confuses the mouse "My shoes?" She looks down at her, bare, footpaws. "Um. I-" had travelling sandals for a while, is how the sentence /would/ have finished, except that suddenly the lizard is a sack... or, in a sack, and martens seem to be taking her. ".. H-hey! Wait!" She calls, and looks around as no help whatsoever is being offered. "Um! They are taking her?! Help?!" She tries, and decides, perhaps unwisely, to pursue the only beast she actually knows to be, probably, friendly so far in the city. She hesitates just a little way into the alley though, and calls back out to... anyone who will listen. "They went down here..?!"

The beasts passing by on the street give the shouting mouse little to no attention. They have all heard that ploy before. Call a beast for help in some dark alley way and BAM! There is a gang of beasts waiting to knife you in the back! No way they are going to be stupid enough to follow some street rat of a barbarian mouse in there!

Meanwhile in the alley way the two martens can be seen bounding down to the other end. One marten carries the lizards struggling legs while the other carries her head. They slide against the far wall before dissapearing around the corner to the right, behind the buildings.

As no help comes... and nobeast even seems to consider it, Catarina finds herself chasing after the pair down the alley. She isn't really sure what's happening, but beasts who -want- to go somewhere tend not to travel by sack, and, perhaps her upbringing or moral compass seems to dictate she try and help even though she's a fairly small mouse. "H-hey! Stop!" She shouts, scurrying down the alley in pursuit as fast as she can.

And so the martens stopped and let loose their captive at the mouses request. Well, not really. They only quickened their pace through the garbage lined alley ways. At one point in time they leap over a homeless fox curled up in a ball off to the side of the alley way. The martens chitter noisily as they make their way through the maze like alley ways. Eventually, away from the public eye they pause at a stone building. The plaster on the building is starting to fall apart and hte windows are boarded up. They knock twice on the door and wait. After a moment the rotted wooden door opens to admit the martens before closing behind them.

Meanwhile back at the venders stand a brown weasel with black spots in his fur approaches the empty stall. Rolling his eyes the weasel sits down in the rug filled with pillows. "I told Sibyl to watch the place, blast it! Lazy lizard! Probibly went off to stuff her face with food...again!" He growls to himself. "Just wait until I tell Maffeo..."

Well... She can't jump over a fox, or take boards from buildings... and she was running in garbage, apparently... The mousemaid pauses at the building she thinks they must have gone into to vanish so quickly... but she isn't -entirely- sure... She tentatively raises a paw to knock. After all, it's not harm to ask, surely... and she can go back to the stall and really really try and get help if it doesn't work...

The door feels like it is about to give way even to the mouses slight figure. All activity that can be heard inside the building comes to a sudden stop. "Go see who it is." A beast can be heard saying. Then come footsteps.

The door opens ever so slightly and a brown furred marten pokes his head through. Like the other martens this one dresses poorly and his fur is unkempt. His pelt hangs losely from his boney figure. "Yeeeeeeees?" He says simply.

Catarina fidgets and then smiles nervously at the marten. "Um. I think your friends brought my, um, guide here. She was going to take me to get some food but..." How does one say 'she got put in a sack and taken away' without it seeming /really/ accusatory..? "I think she got brought here suddenly?"

The marten fidgets just as uncomfortably at the mention of the lizard. He bits his lip as he looks behind him. His claws drum on the door as he turns back to the mouse. "L-lizard? There is no lizard here! You are mistaken! Crazy woodlander." From inside the room someone let's out an ear piercing howl. "Blazes! The lizard bit me! She bleeding bit me!"

The marten at the door closes his eyes and sighs deeply. "Well, Plan A wasn't a very good one anyway." Then with little other warning the marten throws the door open and tries to grab the mouse!

"I, um, never said 'lizard'..." The mousemaid points out with widened eyes, and then hears the noise from inside. "So she /is/ in-ah!" Instead of immediately running, the mouse had stopped to register what she'd heard... and is grabbed without much issue at first, as she wasn't prepared for it. Soon, though, she is kicking and yelling rather loudly as she's dragged inside.